Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Insufficient Exercise a Barrier to Decreasing CVD Deaths

Poor
exercise and eating habits could be the game-changer in the fight against heart
disease and stroke deaths, according to the American Heart Association's (AHA)
"Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update 2013."

Between
1999 and 2009, the rate of deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) fell 32.7%,
but still accounted for nearly 1 in 3 deaths in the nation. However, according
to projections in the 2013 report, heart health may only improve by 6% if
current trends continue. The biggest barriers to success are projected
increases in obesity and diabetes, and only modest improvements in diet and
physical activity. On a positive note, smoking, high cholesterol, and high
blood pressure rates are projected to decline.

68.2%
of adults are overweight or obese; 34.6% are obese; 31.8% are normal or
underweight.

31.8%
of children ages 2-19 are overweight or obese.

32%
of adults report no aerobic activity.

17.7%
of girls and 10% of boys, grades 9-12, report fewer than 1 hour of aerobic
activity in the past week.

13.8%
of adults have total cholesterol of 240 mg/dL or higher.

33%
of adults have high blood pressure; African-Americans have among the highest
prevalence of high blood pressure (44%) worldwide.

8.3%
of adults have diagnosed diabetes; 8.2% have undiagnosed diabetes; 38.2% have
prediabetes.

AHA says
it plans to focus on population-based ways to improve health factors for all
Americans. Some of these include:

Working
with health care systems to support and reward providers who help patients
improve their health behaviors and manage their health risk factors.

Working
with insurers to cover preventive health services and reward positive health
behaviors and medication adherence.

Working
with the education community to make changes in schools that support healthy
diets and physical activity for children.

Building
comprehensive worksite wellness programs.

Building
healthier communities with improved access to healthier foods and green space for
physical activity.

"Americans
need to move a lot more, eat healthier and less, and manage risk factors as
soon as they develop," said Alan S. Go, MD, chair of the report's writing
committee. "If not, we’ll quickly lose the momentum we've gained in reducing
heart attack and stroke rates and improving survival over the last few decades."